BEIJING/NEW DELHI, June 16: China on Saturday urged eurozone countries to work together to resolve the debt crisis or all face being pulled down amid “severe economic storms”, ahead of key elections in Greece and a G20 summit.

India also urged European leaders to take “resolute action” to tackle the financial crisis.

The official Xinhua news agency likened the currency bloc to a “gigantic ship,” and said that its 17 members needed to act as if they were in the “same boat.” ”No one can escape unscathed when the ship capsizes among severe economic storms.

Countries aboard the ship should extend a helping hand to each other,” it said in a commentary.

China is a major holder of European debt and Europe is its biggest export market, so Beijing has looked on with concern at the deepening eurozone crisis.

China's slowing growth is in part due to Europe's debt woes. Beijing has in the past said it is looking at ways it could contribute to bailout funds to help Europe.

Xinhua said Germany and France were “the two motors of the eurozone economy” and called on them to “strengthen bilateral cooperation and play a bigger part in handling the debt crisis.

“As to countries particularly hit hard by the crisis, such as Greece and Spain, they and their peoples should better understand the necessity of relevant painstaking measures including austerity policies, budget-deficit reduction,” it said.

The Xinhua comments came a day before elections in debt-ridden Greece amid fears voters will elect anti-austerity parties who would tear up a bailout agreement, a move that could lead to the country leaving the euro.

They also came ahead of a G20 summit in Mexico on Monday and Tuesday, set to be dominated by the eurozone crisis, that will be attended by Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh sought “resolute action” from European leaders to tackle the crisis in the eurozone as he departed on Saturday to attend the G20 summit in Mexico.

Singh described the situation in Europe as one of the “particular concerns” to India, where the economy grew just 5.3 per cent in the January-March period, its slowest quarterly expansion in nine years.

“Continuing problems there (Europe) will further dampen global markets and adversely impact our own economic growth,” he said.

“It is our hope that European leaders will take resolute action to resolve the financial problems facing them,” he added.

India’s once-booming economy has been hurt by lack of economic reforms, high interest rates, and plummeting business confidence.

Both Singh and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee have blamed the eurozone debt crisis for straining India’s economy, saying that the global slowdown has left them with less room for manoeuvre.

Singh’s government is also under pressure to rein in subsidies and other spending after the budget deficit widened to 5.75 per cent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year ended March 31.

Earlier in the week, Standard & Poor’s warned India could be the first of the BRIC emerging economies to lose its investment-grade rating unless the Asian giant revives its growth and spurs reforms.—AFP